USD 25,000 Grant Empowers Sunrisal Ltd Expansion

The Economic Community of West African States is providing a USD 25,000 (approximately N15 million) financing package for Sunrisal Ltd to expand access to solar electricity for rural households and traders. The company plans to begin deployments in Sokoto State as it tests its customer acquisition and repayment model.

The grant was awarded under the third call of the Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEAP) and will fund Sunrisal's artificial intelligence-driven system that structures flexible repayment arrangements based on customer cash flow.

Sunrisal estimates roughly 85 million Nigerians lack reliable electricity; at a public event co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Collins Nnadozie said the funding recognises electricity's role in economic empowerment. He said: "A trader who can keep the lights on can trade longer, charge devices, store goods and earn more."

Co-founder and AI Engineer Tamuno Opubo Dappa framed the technical aim in commercial terms and the customer benefit, saying the tool will remove rigid repayment schedules. He said: "Most schemes have fixed repayment terms irrespective of customer purchasing power. Our AI solution looks at how much a trader earns each week and sets what they can pay accordingly."

Since 2024 ECOWAS has supported selected renewable energy companies across West Africa through its grant programme. Under the first call the regional body selected 32 solar small and medium-sized enterprises from 1,373 applications; in the latest round Sunrisal was one of the beneficiaries chosen from more than 1,200 applications.

Sunrisal says the USD 25,000 grant will underwrite initial deployments, customer onboarding and marketing as it targets providing solar energy solutions to more than 20,000 households and small businesses across Nigeria.